Unfortunately, repeated incidents of oil and asphalt spillage in both fresh and salt water are well known. Recent history has evidenced the disastrous results that are caused by oil spills. Spilled oil causes damage to marine life, contamination of the water itself, damage to the shoreline and damage to birds and other wild life that are dependent upon the contaminated water. In the case of an asphalt spill, the liquid asphalt usually cools quickly, solidifies, and then sinks below the water surface, necessitating expensive diving salvage operations to avoid becoming a biohazard. Because oil and asphalt spills cause great losses both environmentally and, of course, financially, compositions, methods of making compositions, and methods of using compositions that will control an oil or asphalt spillage such that the spilled material can be readily removed from a water surface are in great need.
Many methods of controlling oil spills have been devised in the past few years. For instance, mechanical devices such as fences, booms, and skimmers have been used to physically contain or remove oil that has been spilled on a water surface. In addition, various types of oil absorbents have also been used in the past, such as, for example, straw. Various chemical treatments have also been used to either contain or coagulate spilled oil. U.S. Pat. No. 3,755,189 to Gilchrist et al. teaches a composition for the control of oil floating on water that comprises a drying oil, a solvent and a catalyst used in combination as a composition that is able to confine oil that is floating on the surface of the water. In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 3,977,967 to Zall teaches a method of containing oil spills that uses a polymer of high molecular weight that is able to gel or coagulate the spilled oil so that the coagulated oil can be easily raked off the surface of the water.
The prior art compositions and methods of Gilchrist et al. and Zall provide moderately effective means for removing spilled oil from a water surface, especially in calm water conditions. However, a composition that is able to confine, coagulate, float and control spilled oil in both calm and rough choppy water has heretofore not been known. Due to the nature of oil and water, the lighter components of oil typically evaporate from the surface of the water in 24-28 hours, while the heavier components of the oil typically sink below the surface of the water and eventually form an emulsion with the water. Previous compositions and methods have been ineffective in removing the spilled oil from the water surface, especially in the rough water conditions which are typically prevalent in oil spill situations.
Blends of a soft elastomeric polymer with a glyceride, useful as adhesives and sealing compounds, are disclosed in Sterling, U.S. Pat. No. 3,067,154. These mixtures are a blend of 10 to 50 parts by weight of the final composition elastomeric polymer with 5 to 25 parts by weight of the final composition oil, and contain other ingredients such as talc, clay, and solvent. These mixtures have not been subjected to thermal reaction conditions, and would not function to coagulate oil on water so that the oil can be easily removed from the water.